The results of the second national social survey of Indigenous people were released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and point to some changes since the groundbreaking original survey in 1994.

Education:

The proportion of Indigenous people (aged 15 and over) in Queensland with a non-school qualification (e.g. from university, TAFE, etc.) has doubled between 1994 and 2002 - from one in eight (12%) to one in four (25%). The proportion of Indigenous people with a certificate or diploma doubled (from 11% to 22%), while those with a Bachelor degree or higher qualification rose from 1% to 3%.

Excluding those who had a non-school qualification, the proportion of Indigenous people in Queensland who had completed Year 12 rose from 11% in 1994 to 13% in 2002.

Despite these improvements, in Queensland in 2002 Indigenous people (aged 18 and over) were still less likely than non-Indigenous people to have a non-school qualification (29% compared with 46% respectively).

Work:

The unemployment rate for Indigenous people in Queensland (aged 15 and over), fell from 33% in 1994 to 26% in 2002. This change parallels the decline in the national unemployment rate (from 10% in June 1994 to 6% in December 2002).

The share of unemployed Indigenous people in Queensland who had been out of work for one year or more declined (from 39% in 1994 to 23% in 2002).

While the Community Development Employment Projects scheme (CDEP) contributed to Indigenous employment growth over this period, the proportion of Indigenous people employed in mainstream jobs in Queensland also rose (from 29% to 34%).

Income:

The gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples' incomes remains. In 2002, Indigenous people (aged 18 and over) in Queensland earned 67% of the income of non-Indigenous people ($392 per week compared to $587 per week after adjusting for household size and composition).

Health:

After adjusting for the different age structures of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations, Indigenous people (aged 18 and over) in Queensland were:

twice as likely as non-Indigenous people to report their health as "fair" or "poor"

around half as likely to report "excellent" or "very good" health

more likely to have a disability or long-term health condition than non-Indigenous people.

Culture:

Over the eight years since 1994, evidence highlights stability onselected cultural indicators. In Queensland in 2002:

over half (56%) of Indigenous people identified with a clan, tribal or language group

one in fifteen (6%) Indigenous people reported using an Indigenous language as their main language spoken at home. Note: Speakers of Oceanian pidgins and creoles may not have been included.

Family and community:

Indigenous people in Queensland in 2002 were almost one and a half times more likely to experience at least one life stressor (e.g. "death of family member or close friend", "serious illness or disability", or "inability to get a job") than non-Indigenous people (86% compared with 59%).

Similar to the non-Indigenous community, the overwhelming majority of Indigenous people in Queensland received support from someone outside the household (91% for Indigenous people compared with 95% for non-Indigenous people).

In both 1994 and 2002, the same proportion (7%) of Indigenous people (aged 15 or over) in Queensland reported they had been taken away from their natural family.

Law and justice:

Compared to 1994, Indigenous people in Queensland in 2002 were three times more likely to report that they had been a victim of physical or threatened violence in the previous 12 months (27% in 2002, up from 9% in 1994). These victimisation rates were highest among unemployed people (34%) and younger people (39% of those aged 15-24).

Housing:

Over one-quarter (27%) of Indigenous people in Queensland were living in dwellings either owned or being purchased in 2002 (up from 21% in 1994).

In remote areas of Queensland in 2002, the majority (59%) of Indigenous people (aged 18 and over) were living in rented dwellings provided by Indigenous Housing Organisations, or in other community housing.

More details are available in National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey, 2002 (cat. no. 4714.0). State/territory comparisons for selected indicators are available in Table 2 of the publication. Additonal state and territory data cube tables are available off the publication's main features page on the ABS web site or upon request.